Kick-Ass (movie)

I know I’m the last person with an interest to see Kick-Ass — or as my ticket stub has it, “Kick A**” — but after all the good reviews, I decided to see it myself a couple of weeks ago.

I have little interest in the original comic book, which I haven’t read. I’m not a big fan of artist John Romita, Jr.’s post-‘80s work — after he started perfecting his own style — but he would have been the stronger draw for me. I have no sympathy for writer Mark Millar’s puerile (like CLiNT) cynicism and antagonism toward superheroes. If I hadn’t heard in Paul O’Brien’s comments that those tendencies were toned down, I still wouldn’t have seen the movie.

The superhero baiting is almost gone, but the cynicism is still strong. Kick-Ass (Aaron Johnson) is Dave Lizewski, a high schooler who turns to crimefighting after one too many comic books and casual muggings. His first foray turns out badly after he’s stabbed and hit by a car, but his second battle gets noticed after New Yorkers more concerned with using their phones to record the fight than call 911 post the fight on the Internet. After that, he becomes a celebrity — or, I suppose, Internet famous.

There is, of course, an OLI⁴⁴ — how could there not be, with high school and superheroes in one movie? But Kick-Ass handles romance like children handle everything, with a careless abandon that doesn’t care about fragility or value. Dave’s got a crush on Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca), and in a plot twist that would make the hackiest sitcom writer blush, Dave pretends to be gay when Katie is looking for a homosexual BFF. The relationship proceeds about how you would expect, given that setup and the romantic storyline’s secondary importance.

Let’s be clear: If this movie were solely about Dave as himself and as Kick-Ass, it would be forgettable. But two other very competent heroes steal the show: Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) and Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage). Big Daddy is an unjustly disgraced former cop, and Hit-Girl is his 11-year-old daughter. Hit-Girl and Big Daddy share a loving but disturbing bond, equal parts violence and sweetness. Big Daddy is a loving father focused on retribution for being framed by a mob boss, and Hit-Girl is a foul-mouthed prodigy of mayhem. Cage’s and Meretz’s performances are easily the best in the movie, and they manage to pull off the unlikely characters with a surprising ease. For some reason, Cage’s soft-spoken, caring character — who slips into an Adam West impersonation in his costumed persona — is no less shocking that Meretz’s high-pitched obscenities and endorsements of violence.

In interviews Millar has made many claims of realism, based around Kick-Ass’s non-superheroic hero. Do not believe those claims. There is little realism here. Yes, the movie stars a scuba-suited hero who gets the tar beaten out of him in most fights, but the movie also has a jet pack, an 11-year-old delivering debilitating punches to the face, and a bazooka attack in Manhattan apparently attracting no attention. That Kick-Ass doesn’t get beaten up simply for his stupid costume or by people wanting to prove they’re tough strains credibility.

But that’s not a criticism; that’s to the movie’s credit. The movie knows the superhero story, and it hits all the right notes all the way through. The action and stakes build until the cataclysmic end, and the fight scenes are exciting, well scripted and performed, and always filled with the promise of danger. Yes, the romance angle is forced, but the Katie’s reaction to one of Dave’s beatings is affecting. The violence is felt viscerally — each punch can almost be felt through the screen. The heroes are given stirring dramatic moments; at one point, the movie brilliantly uses an Ennio Morricone theme from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly as Hit-Girl begins the final assault. The origins, the learning curve, the secret ID, the family, the team-up, the betrayal — all the stock elements are here, and they’re here for a reason. The entire movie leaves a mark in the mind, taking the superhero story, reinforcing it, then punching you with it.

Is this as good as some comic fans are saying? No. But it is a very good movie, one that somehow manages to be better than the sum of (most of) its parts.

Rating: (4 of 5)

Skrull Kill Krew

Collects: Skrull Kill Krew #1-5 (1995)

Released: June 2006 (Marvel)

Skrull Kill Krew was a five-issue series published by Marvel in 1995. Whether it was a limited series or an ongoing series canceled quickly, I can’t be sure; the former is more likely.

In any event, Skrull Kill Krew has a simple premise. The U.S. government has been feeding the American people hamburgers tainted with Skrull meat. Yes, they ground the flesh of sentient beings and put it in random meat products to see what effect it would have on people. Some were immune; some died quickly. But some gained not only shapeshifting powers and the ability to detect shapeshifting Skrulls but progressive insanity and seizures.

What the government hoped to get out of this, writers Mark Millar and Grant Morrison don’t tell us. But a mystery man named Ryder gets some of the infected people together for a Skrull-killing party, and Marvel put the results in a “Marvel Edge” book, sort of an unsuccessful forerunner to Marvel Knights.

There are many positives in this book. The gleeful mayhem has a great deal of energy that carries the story (such as it is) along. There are great character designs by artist Steve Yeowell, especially English racist Moonstomp (with his hammer, Nobbler) and Riot, a “punk” teenager. There are great visuals throughout, including the cover to issue 1, which became the cover for the TPB.

On the other hand, there is a distressing repetitiveness to the plots: find the Skrulls, kill the Skrulls, repeat. There are stories that Millar and Morrison knocked out the idea while in a pub one night and wrote most of the stories while drunk. I don’t necessarily believe that, but there is a lack of depth here that fans of Morrison will miss. Both writers will do better things.

The weird thing is, as off the wall and bizarre as the concept is, it works better when it touches on the Marvel Universe. The story starts with Fantastic Four #2, when Reed Richards forces defeated Skrulls to take the form of cows, then hypnotizes them into believing they are cows. The idea for the series is itself a variant on Fantastic Four Annual #17, in which the milk from the Skrull cows causes residents of a small town to take on Skrull characteristics. (The Fantastic Four stop that evil.)

The most effective stories are #2 and 3, in which the Krew works with Captain America to foil Baron Strucker and Hydra’s attempt to take over a Baltic state. The Krew is there mainly by accident, wanting only to kill Skrulls — Moonstomp actually sympathizes with the Nazis — and recruit a new member. Captain America is a bit too sweet and perfect, giving you an idea of Millar and Morrison’s view on his character. The writers some very good lines, including Baron Strucker, a Nazi, calling Dr. Doom a “neo-liberal”. The situation gives you a good sense of how amoral the Krew’s mayhem is; they’ll kill non-Skrulls and work with Nazis if it helps their cause.

Morrison has commented that Skrull Kill Krew is under development for television. I can’t believe that, or rather, I can’t believe anyone’s going to follow through on that. And I can’t decide whether that’s good — even though I’m pretty sure it would be a car wreck of a TV program.

Grade: B-. Ultimately, not enough depth, but some manic fun.